語言學奧賽備考單元 | 構詞學

Morphology for Linguistics Olympiad Preparation

## Part I. Handout|Concepts & Strategies (How words encode grammar — and how to reason it out)

1. 什麼是構詞學?

What is Morphology (in Olympiad Terms)?

構詞學研究的是:

一個「詞」裡面,哪些部分在表達語法或意義?

在語言學奧賽中,構詞學不是背名詞,而是回答這個問題:

哪些形式反覆出現?它們在什麼條件下出現?

💡 提示: 在解題時,注意觀察 重複出現的形式 和它們對應的 語法功能


Morphology studies how words are internally structured and how grammatical meaning is encoded inside words. In Olympiad problems, morphology is about one core task: > Identifying which parts of a word do grammatical work, and under what conditions. Key idea:


2. 四個就夠用的構詞基本概念

Four Core Concepts (Minimal but Sufficient)

You only need four concepts to solve most Olympiad morphology problems.

(1) Morpheme (語素)

- A morpheme is the smallest recurring form–meaning unit.- Recurring = appears in multiple words- Meaningful = contributes consistent information
You do not need to label it as prefix/suffix/root in the solution;you only need to identify its function.

(2) Lexical vs. Grammatical Meaning (詞彙意義與文法意義)

Type What it contributes Function Example
Lexical “what kind of thing/action” what it is dog, run
Grammatical number, tense, role, size how it behaves plural, past, diminutive

Olympiad rule of thumb: If a piece only appears when the meaning changes in a systematic way, it is grammatical.


(3) Position Matters(位置很重要)

In many languages: - grammatical material appears in a fixed position - lexical material varies more freely

This allows reasoning even when you do not know the language.


(4) One Meaning ≠ One Form

💡 No affix ≠ no morphology.

A single grammatical meaning (e.g. plural) may be expressed by:

Do not assume morphology must “look clean”.


3. 世界語言中的構詞類型(奧賽版)

Morphological Types (Olympiad-Oriented)

You do not need full typology. But knowing what kinds of systems exist prevents false assumptions.

類型 特徵 Olympiad Implication
孤立語 Isolating 幾乎沒詞形變化 不要亂找 affix
黏著語 Agglutinative 一個語素一個功能 最好拆
屈折語 Fusional 一個形式多功能 不要一對一假設
非串接 Non-concatenative 音變/內部改變 看「變了什麼」

3.1 Isolating Languages

💡 Olympiad implication: - Do not look for affixes everywhere — sometimes there are none.

3.2 Agglutinative Languages

Example pattern:

stem + plural + case

💡 Olympiad implication: - Excellent for segmentation-based reasoning.

3.3 Fusional Languages

Example:

one ending = tense + person + number

💡 Olympiad implication: - Do not expect one-to-one form–meaning mapping.

3.4 Non-Concatenative Morphology

Grammar expressed by:

💡 Olympiad implication: - If “nothing seems added”, check what changed.

## 4. 典型構詞問題 #### Typical Morphology Problem Types
## 5. How Minimal Morphological Knowledge Helps You Solve Problems
### 5.1 Prevents Over-Segmentation
- Beginners often segment too much.
- Minimal principle: - Do not split unless the split is supported by multiple examples.
### 5.2 Prevents Category Confusion
- Knowing that: - plural ≠ diminutive - tense ≠ aspect - helps you avoid collapsing unrelated meanings into one rule
### 5.3 Guides Hypothesis Testing
- Morphological knowledge tells you what kinds of rules are plausible.
Example: - A “plural” marker that only appears with humans → plausible
- A plural marker that randomly disappears → suspicious
### 5.4 Helps You Handle Exceptions Correctly
- Advanced Olympiad problems include controlled exceptions.
- Correct reaction:
- “This is not noise — this exception is telling me something.”

6. 構詞題型通用解題流程

A Compact Reasoning Checklist

When facing a morphology problem, always ask:

  1. 哪些形式重複?Which parts recur?
  2. 哪些意義重複?Which meanings recur?
  3. 是否一對一對應?Do form and meaning align consistently?
  4. 變化是否有條件?Is position stable?
  5. 有沒有「什麼都沒變」本身就是規則?Is variation conditioned or random?

If you can answer these five, you can solve the problem.


Part II. Hands-on Morphology Lab Sessions

###(課堂實作區)


Lab 1|入門 Entry Level

Seeing Morphology: “Words Are Not Atomic”

Problem 1.1 — Clean Affixation

Word Meaning
bata child
bata-ko children
luma house
luma-ko houses

💡 Expected reasoning

Key takeaway: Morphology starts with repetition + consistency, not terminology. Stop try to invent extra rules; Reinforce minimum necessary segmentation


Lab 2|中低階 Lower Intermediate

One Meaning, Different Shapes (Allomorphy)

Data

Word Meaning
tap stone
tap-im stones
sun tree
sun-um trees
lak road
lak-im roads

Tasks

  1. Identify the plural marker(s)
  2. Explain why there are two forms
  3. Predict plural of mun (river)

💡 Expected reasoning

⚠️ Common wrong hypothesis (to discuss) : “There are two different plurals.” And why it fails:


Lab 3|中高階 Upper Intermediate

Competing Morphemes: Do Not Collapse Functions

Problem 3.1 — Plural vs Diminutive

Data

Word Meaning
moro dog
moro-ka dogs
moro-ti small dog
moro-ti-ka small dogs
sena cat
sena-ti small cat

Tasks

  1. Identify each morpheme and its function
  2. Why is -ti not plural?
  3. Translate small cats.

💡 Expected reasoning


Lab 4|選拔賽等級 Pre-IOL

Morphology Without Affixes (When Morphology Isn’t Segmentable)

Problem 4.1 — Stem Alternation

Data

Word Meaning
kel goat
kal goats
pem bird
pam birds
tir fish

Tasks

  1. How is plural expressed?
  2. Is there an affix?
  3. Predict plural of tir

💡 Expected reasoning

Key takeaway: Absence of an affix is itself evidence.


Lab 5|IOL Final Level

Morphology × Constraints × Exceptions

Constraints, Zero Marking, Semantics

Problem 5.1 — Restricted Plurality

Data

Word Meaning
anu man
anu-ka men
isi woman
isi-ka women
poko stone
poko stones
luma house
luma houses

Tasks

  1. Identify the plural rule(s)
  2. Explain why some nouns do not change
  3. Predict plural of anu-ti (young man)

💡 Expected reasoning

Why this is IOL-level - Multiple interacting constraints - Zero morphology as a meaningful choice - Requires explicit reasoning, not pattern matching

Cognitive Skill Mapping

Lab Focus Cognitive Skill
1 Segmentation Pattern detection
2 Allomorphy Conditioned variation
3 Function separation Hypothesis discipline
4 Non-concatenative Rule abstraction
5 Constraints & exceptions System-level reasoning

Part III. Answer Keys(教師用,請勿提前給學生)


Lab 1 Answer Key


Lab 2 Answer Key


Lab 3 Answer Key


Lab 4 Answer Key


Lab 5 Answer Key


附錄:字體使用指南

如何在文中切換字體

在 Markdown 文件中,你可以使用 HTML <span> 標籤配合 CSS 類來切換字體:

基本語法

<span class="字體類名">要改變字體的內容</span>

可用字體類

類名 字體類型 用途 範例
.ming 明体(衬线) 正文、標題(預設) <span class="ming">這是明體</span>
.hei 黑体(无衬线) 強調、標題 <span class="hei">這是黑體</span>
.kai 楷体 手寫風格、特殊說明 <span class="kai">這是楷體</span>
.fangsong 仿宋 優雅風格 <span class="fangsong">這是仿宋</span>
.mono 等寬字體 代碼、對齊 <span class="mono">這是等寬</span>
.english 英文專用(Lato) 英文內容(已全局設置,無需使用) English Text
.highlight 淺灰高亮(行內) 標記重點文字 <span class="highlight">重要內容</span>
.highlight-gray 淺灰高亮(行內) 標記重點文字 <span class="highlight-gray">重要內容</span>
.highlight-yellow 黃色高亮(行內) 標記重點文字 <span class="highlight-yellow">重要內容</span>
.highlight-blue 藍色高亮(行內) 標記重點文字 <span class="highlight-blue">重要內容</span>
.highlight-green 綠色高亮(行內) 標記重點文字 <span class="highlight-green">重要內容</span>
.highlight-block 淺灰高亮(塊級) 標記整段內容 <div class="highlight-block">整段內容</div>
.highlight-block-yellow 黃色高亮(塊級) 標記整段內容 <div class="highlight-block-yellow">整段內容</div>
.highlight-block-blue 藍色高亮(塊級) 標記整段內容 <div class="highlight-block-blue">整段內容</div>

組合使用

可以同時使用多個類:

<span class="hei large">這是大號黑體</span>
<span class="kai italic">這是斜體楷體</span>
<span class="ming bold">這是粗體明體</span>

實際範例

範例 1:強調重點

構詞學的核心概念是:<span class="hei">語素(morpheme)</span>

範例 2:特殊說明

<span class="kai">注意:</span>這個規則僅適用於人類名詞。

範例 3:英文內容(使用 Lato 字體)

The term morphology comes from Greek.

範例 4:代碼或對齊

複數標記:<span class="mono">-ko</span>

範例 5:高亮背景(標記重點)

構詞學的核心是:<span class="highlight">語素(morpheme)</span>

重點提示:<span class="highlight-yellow">這個規則很重要</span>

注意事項:<span class="highlight-blue">請仔細閱讀</span>

可用高亮顏色: - <span class="highlight"><span class="highlight-gray"> - 淺灰色(默認) - <span class="highlight-yellow"> - 黃色 - <span class="highlight-blue"> - 藍色 - <span class="highlight-green"> - 綠色 - <span class="highlight-pink"> - 粉色 - <span class="highlight-orange"> - 橙色

範例 6:塊級高亮(整段高亮)

<div class="highlight-block">
這是一整段需要高亮的內容。
可以包含多行文字。
適合用於重要說明、提示、注意事項等。
</div>

<div class="highlight-block-yellow">
⚠️ 重要提示:這是黃色塊級高亮
適合用於警告或重要提醒
</div>

<div class="highlight-block-blue">
💡 提示:這是藍色塊級高亮
適合用於一般提示或說明
</div>

可用塊級高亮顏色: - <div class="highlight-block"><div class="highlight-block-gray"> - 淺灰色(默認) - <div class="highlight-block-yellow"> - 黃色 - <div class="highlight-block-blue"> - 藍色 - <div class="highlight-block-green"> - 綠色 - <div class="highlight-block-pink"> - 粉色 - <div class="highlight-block-orange"> - 橙色

塊級高亮 vs 行內高亮: - 行內高亮 (<span class="highlight">):用於標記單詞或短句 - 塊級高亮 (<div class="highlight-block">):用於標記整段內容,有更大的內邊距和左側邊框

在表格中使用

| 類別 | 說明 |
|------|------|
| 語素 | <span class="hei">最小的意義單位</span> |
| 詞根 | <span class="kai">詞彙核心</span> |

注意事項

  1. 預設字體:文件預設使用明體(中文)和 Lato(英文),無需特別標註
  2. 相容性:這些樣式在支援 HTML 的 Markdown 查看器中有效(如 Typora、VS Code 預覽、GitHub 等)
  3. PDF 轉換:使用 Pandoc 轉換為 PDF 時,樣式會保留
  4. 簡潔原則:不要過度使用字體切換,保持文件一致性

快速參考卡片


附錄:Markdown 預覽對齊問題解決方案

為什麼預覽無法很好對齊?

Markdown 預覽器(如 Typora、VS Code、GitHub 等)在渲染表格時,可能因為以下原因導致對齊問題:

  1. 字符寬度差異
  2. 字體渲染差異
  3. 表格解析差異

🚀 立即解決方案(推薦)

方案 1:檢查表格格式(最簡單)

確保表格格式正確

  1. 每列之間必須有空格

    ✅ 正確:| 列1 | 列2 | 列3 |
    ❌ 錯誤:| 列1|列2|列3 |
  2. 分隔線長度要一致

    ✅ 正確:
    | 類型 | 特徵 | 說明 |
    | ---- | ---- | ---- |
    
    ❌ 錯誤:
    | 類型 | 特徵 | 說明 |
    | -- | ---- | - |
  3. 確保表格行開頭和結尾都有 |

    ✅ 正確:| 內容 | 內容 |
    ❌ 錯誤:內容 | 內容

方案 2:使用 HTML 表格(最可靠)

如果 Markdown 表格仍然無法對齊,直接使用 HTML 表格:

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th style="width: 30%;">類型</th>
      <th style="width: 30%;">特徵</th>
      <th style="width: 40%;">說明</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>孤立語</td>
      <td>幾乎沒詞形變化</td>
      <td>不要亂找 affix</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

方案 3:編輯器設置調整

Typora: 1. 設置 → 偏好設置 → 編輯器 2. 啟用「嚴格模式」 3. 設置 → 偏好設置 → 外觀 → 調整字體大小為 14-16px

VS Code: 1. 安裝擴展:「Markdown Preview Enhanced」 2. 使用 Ctrl+Shift+V 預覽(比內建預覽器對齊更好)

其他編輯器: - 嘗試導出為 HTML 或 PDF 查看對齊效果 - 使用 GitHub 網頁版預覽(對表格支持最好)

方案 3:使用 HTML 表格(最精確)

如果需要完全控制對齊,可以使用 HTML 表格:

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th style="width: 30%;">類型</th>
      <th style="width: 30%;">特徵</th>
      <th style="width: 40%;">Olympiad Implication</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>孤立語 Isolating</td>
      <td>幾乎沒詞形變化</td>
      <td>不要亂找 affix</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

方案 4:編輯器設置

Typora: - 設置 → 偏好設置 → 編輯器 → 啟用「嚴格模式」 - 設置 → 偏好設置 → 外觀 → 調整字體大小

VS Code: - 安裝 “Markdown Preview Enhanced” 擴展 - 使用 Ctrl+Shift+V 預覽,對齊會更好

GitHub: - GitHub 的 Markdown 渲染對表格支持較好 - 如果仍有問題,考慮使用 HTML 表格

🔍 快速診斷:為什麼我的表格無法對齊?

檢查清單

  1. 表格格式是否正確?
  2. 使用的編輯器/預覽器是什麼?
  3. CSS 樣式是否生效?
  4. 表格內容是否過長?

當前文件的對齊優化

已添加以下 CSS 優化:

  1. 表格布局:使用 table-layout: auto 自動調整列寬
  2. 強制樣式:使用 !important 確保樣式優先級
  3. 文字換行:允許長文本自動換行,避免破壞布局
  4. 邊框和間距:統一的邊框和內邊距設置
  5. 表格渲染:強制使用 display: table 確保正確渲染

建議

如果對齊問題持續存在,建議: 1. 檢查使用的 Markdown 編輯器/預覽器 2. 嘗試不同的預覽器(如 GitHub、Typora、Marked 等) 3. 對於關鍵表格,使用 HTML 表格替代